Grimsby Town boss Russell Slade wants to see his side learn from their defeat to Coventry City – and develop a stronger mentality for the rest of the season.

The Mariners suffered a 2-0 defeat at Blundell Park at the weekend – a result which saw the Sky Blues open the scoring in controversial circumstances.

Marc McNulty gave the visitors the lead as he rolled the ball into an empty net after nicking the ball away from Town at a free-kick – although Town protested furiously with the referee that Nathan Clarke had passed the ball to James McKeown to take the set-piece.

Jack Grimmer went on to wrap up the points with the second goal as Coventry ramped up the pressure against a despondent Mariners side – and Slade wants his side to improve on their response to similar situations in the future.

“I’d like to see us have a stronger mentality when things aren’t going our way,” Slade told the Telegraph.

“Whatever happens, you’ve got to be mentally tough and ensure that you play to your very best level.

“I didn’t think we did that on Saturday, and what it comes down to then is making good decisions at good times – and good decisions bring good opportunities.”

It proved to be a tough afternoon for the Mariners on Saturday, who suffered a blow before kick-off as striker Scott Vernon was forced to pull out of the starting line-up after picking up a calf injury in the warm-up.

And their misery was compounded late on in the game when midfielder James Berrett picked up a second yellow to earn Town’s second red card of the season.

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“Factors built up for us in that we lost Sam Kelly the day before the game, then we lost Scott Vernon at quarter to three, then things conspire against you in the afternoon as well.

“That’s when you’ve got to be mentally tough if you’re going to be successful – you can’t make excuses.

“The bottom line is you have to ensure that you get something out of the game, even if you’re not playing as well as you’re capable of, and we are capable of better, there’s no doubt about that in my mind.”